Policy Link / Whose Election?

Joan Montgomery Halford

It's baby-kissing season again," noted an ASCD colleague recently about the upcoming elections. This year, given the significance of education issues in the pre-election polls, savvy candidates will be kissing more babies—and paying more attention to the educational needs of young people—than usual. One month before the school year even began, participants in an Associated Press survey on political attitudes and the House elections indicated that education was their number-one concern.

From congressional contests to local school board races, questions about school finance, teacher quality, and achievement standards loom large this year. And although candidates of all stripes have been quick to tap into the electorate's concerns, the markedly different ways in which they are framing the education picture have much to say about the public's perceptions of public schools.

Accountability and Choice

The campaign themes of school accountability and choice are echoing around the country. Democrats and Republicans alike have embraced public charter schools, although emerging research casts some doubt on the benefits of charters.

Educators nationwide should keep a careful eye on Florida, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeb Bush and running mate Frank Brogan, the Sunshine State's chief school officer, have made a proposal to "grade" schools by using standardized test scores a campaign centerpiece. High-achieving schools would receive performance bonuses, whereas parents of students in Florida schools that drop two letter grades or earn an F two years in a row would be given vouchers to send their children elsewhere.

This proposed marriage of accountability to a free-market style of schooling is hardly new to election rhetoric—yet the seriousness with which voters are considering this proposal at the state level is. As is the case with all voucher measures, the critical question is whether such a platform would in effect become an educational gangplank, particularly for students living in poverty.

Informing the Vote

If, as Adam Kernan-Schloss and Andy Plattner indicate (p. 18), educators themselves are a primary source of information about local education issues, then now is a critical time to talk with community members about recent education research and the view from inside our schools. Three-quarters of U.S. households do not have school-age children, so such conversations may just be a deciding factor between pulling one lever or the next in our voting booths.

The Advocate's Toolbox

Netting Election Information. Here are just a few of the Web sites education activists can use to gather information about candidates and elected officials and their positions on education issues.

http://www.vote-smart.org/. Project Vote Smart, a non-profit, non-partisan group, follows the performance of more than 13,000 elected leaders. This site includes voting records, issue positions, background information, and performance evaluations by special interest groups.

http://www.democracynet.org/
. The Democracy Network, a non-partisan political information site, hosts interactive debates on local, state, and national issues. The site covers election races and ballot propositions in all 50 states, as well as elections in selected countries.

http://voter96.cqalert.com/
. Congressional Quarterly's American Voter features an “On the Job” directory of elected officials, with biographical data, committee memberships, recent speeches, and voting records.